2 Bags and a Pack

“Man was meant to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” – Jack London

“I’m not lost. I’m on my way.” – unknown

The “2 Bags and a Pack World Tour” is into its 7th year of vagabonding from country to country. Already, eight photo/essay books have been written from the experience – Indonesia – An Expat’s Tale, Jogja – The Jewel of Java. A Visit to Bali, A Visit to Penang, Malaysia, Rome & Sicily: An Expat’s Tale, Costa Rica: An Expat’s Tale and Experience Croatia – An expat’s tale.

The 8th and latest edition is Batam Beauties, a collection of photos of some of the women who live on Batam Island, Indonesia.

Currently, the 2 Bags and a Pack World Tour is in Hua Hin, Thailand, and my posts will reflect that location.

The “tour” began in June 2010. I had been researching a move to Costa Rica for a number of years when, in 2010, it appeared likely that I would be laid off from my job. Finding a new job in the recession-plagued U.S. economy in my profession and at my level of experience was going to be at least difficult, if not impossible. That expectation proved to be accurate.

When I decided to take the plunge, I first had to purge myself of almost all my belongings, before moving to Costa Rica, sight unseen. My goal was to travel as light as possible, so I packed two large suitcases and a small backpack with clothes, linens, toiletries, fishing tackle, my pool stick, and small odds and ends I thought I would need. Everything else I sold or gave away.  Thus was born the 2 Bags and a Pack blog you are reading now.

My original intent was to make Costa Rica my retirement home, but boredom and my Type A personality changed that plan. It was then that I hatched my 2 Bags and a Pack tour idea. The initial plan was to move to a new low-cost country every year.

Initially, I focused on Croatia as a low-cost country that would be interesting to live in for a year. At the time, Croatia was not part of the European Union, which meant the EU’s visa rules did not apply, so that I was able to move to another European country, Italy. Unfortunately, the European countries only allow an expat to stay in-country for 90 days on your passport, requiring you to leave the EU for 90 days before re-entering. So I had to leave the EU after 90 days.

Fortunately, as I was researching my next destination (Turkey was a possibility, as was Greece, which would mean testing the EU 90-day visa restriction.), I was offered a job in Indonesia, a country I had not considered in my research due to its Muslim nature. I would learn that that was a nonsense reason for not living in Indonesia, which turned out to be a very pleasant and rewarding experience.

Four years later, and plenty of stories in between, I am now trying Thailand as a home.

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Here’s a great site for information about living in other countries – Expat Exchange

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My eight travel photo/essay books are:

Jogja – The Jewel of Java @ Amazon/Kindle

Indonesia – An Expat’s Tale @ Amazon/Kindle

A Visit to Bali @ Amazon/Kindle

A Visit to Penang, Malaysia @ Amazon/Kindle

Rome & Sicily: An Expat’s Tale @ Amazon/Kindle

Experience Croatia @ Amazon/Kindle

Costa Rica: An Expat’s Tale @ Amazon/Kindle

Batam Beauties @ Amazon/Kindle